Materion Corp., an Ohio-based firm and supplier of downhole equipment to the oil & gas industry, through a strategic alliance with Hess Corp., is now issuing a unique downhole coupling product that it tested in the Bakken fields. Hess, a global energy company primarily focused on the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, tested the patent-pending ToughMet 3 couplings in North Dakota oilfields.
Made from a unique temper of copper-nickel-tin spinodal alloy engineered by Materion specifically for use in the oilfield, ToughMet 3 Sucker Rod Couplings resist mechanical wear, thread damage, corrosion and erosion. They are non-galling, so they do not damage production tubing, and they retain their strength even at elevated temperatures.
The ToughMet 3 Sucker Rod Couplings maximize oilfield production output and significantly reduce the costs of well operations when used in place of sucker rod couplings made of conventional steel materials, according to Materion.
Over 18 months, Hess field tested the couplings on the worst wear sections of tapered rod strings in 10 of its Bakken wells and found practically no measured wear in double the previous run time, Materion said.